


Torchwood's Unofficial Finest

by HalfASlug



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-01 01:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6495235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HalfASlug/pseuds/HalfASlug
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rose finds herself in a dangerous situation it's up to the two people that love her the most to save her. Unfortunately, the Doctor and Jackie have never been the most cohesive of teams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Game is a Hand in a Jar

"So have you proposed yet?"

The Doctor closed the fridge door, bottle of wine in hand and rested his forehead against it. Spending time with Jackie was bad enough on a normal day, but tonight she would be in his flat all evening. With Pete away on business and Tony at a sleepover, Rose had invited her over for dinner. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence since they had started their life together in Pete's World nearly a year ago and the Doctor was learning to deal with being around Jackie, providing Rose was around to use as a buffer.

So, of course, it was tonight she chose to be late home from work.

He opened his eyes and looked at the pixelated image of a smiling Rose in front of him. Maybe if he pressed his head against the fridge really, really hard he'd melt into the photo with her?

"Oi! You listening to me?"

Sighing, the Doctor pushed off the fridge to stand up straight. "Yes."

There was a squawking noise, followed by the sound of rustling clothes and the kitchen door bursting open. "What did she say?"

"Who?"

"Rose, you idiot!"

"About what?"

Jackie gave him a look so scathing he was sure even a Dalek would squirm. "Are you deliberately trying to send me into an early grave?"

"No!" he protested. "Sheltered accommodation, perhaps..."

Thankfully he'd known Jackie long enough to anticipate her throwing the apple in the fruit bowl at him so he was able to catch it. He winked and took a bite of it as she continued to fume about whatever it was she was annoyed about this time.

"You said you'd proposed to my daughter, Doctor," she growled in an uncanny impression of Rose the Dog who was currently busy with a bowl of food at the Doctor's feet.

"I- what?"

"Well?"

"Of course I haven't! Not that - that I wouldn't want to," he added hastily when Jackie's glare intensified. "But it's only been - what? - six months? Bit soon, don't you think?"

Jackie folded her arms and the Doctor glanced at the door, hoping to see Rose coming home to save him. Folded arms never meant anything positive.

"It's been ten months," she corrected, "and you knew her years before that anyway. So?"

Pouring the wine out into two glasses provided the Doctor with a much needed excuse not to make eye contact and time to work out a response. The truth was that he had proposed. Twice. It appeared that one of the many Donna quirks he had inherited was the desire to get married. It had been a bit disconcerting when he first found himself flicking through bridal magazines but it didn't seem so bad once he pictured Rose in one of the dresses. She was the perfect candidate for marriage after all, seeing as she lived with him, bought him bananas every so often and seemed to enjoy kissing him.

He'd kept his own opinion on the whole settling down thing though; as soon as the TARDIS coral was fully grown and functional he was going to be out of a permenant address quicker than you could say "monthly mortgage repayments." The only difference was that this time he wanted to run away with Rose.

However, Rose, while she agreed with the whole running away together thing, had turned him down. It had been done with many reassurances that she would eventually say yes and it didn't change anything, not really, but it still made him worry. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing he ever wanted to talk to Jackie about either, even if she could shed some light on the whole issue. Rose had said that it was because he needed to work out if that was what he really wanted or if he was just asking because he thought he should and, if the Doctor was honest with himself, she probably had a point. Suddenly changing species and inheriting half your best friend's DNA was a confusing process, after all.

Still, he wondered glumly, as the second wine glass was filled to exact same level as the other, he'd as good as proposed that day on the beach and she seemed on board then.

"Maybe one day, Jackie," he sighed, handing her a glass. "And we'll be sure to let you know the second it happens so you can cry and plan and do that weird squealing thing as soon as possible."

Oddly enough, Jackie was happy enough with this response to accept the drink with a small sniff. "'Spose that will do. For now." She gave him a final glare, as though he'd reveal he had his fingers crossed the whole time, and went back into the living room.

A long exhale and swig of wine later, the Doctor followed.

"Where is Rose, anyway?" Jackie asked as she sat down on the sofa. The Doctor reached for the TV remote but she too quick for him and switched the channel to Big Brother. Outwardly, he sulked and threw himself into the armchair, but inside he was glad. It was an eviction tonight and he'd been desperate to watch it without anyone realising he wanted to watch it. Reality TV was below Time Lords, after all. He was only watching because that Diane bitch was playing such a clever game that she was clearly a potential threat to the nation. There was no actual enjoyment from watching all the highlights, the companion shows and reading all the relevant interviews.

"The kitchen last time I saw her," the Doctor replied, his attention on the a group of twenty-somethings who were dressed as ketchup bottles for some reason.

"No, Rose the Person."

"Oh, her. Still at work." The Doctor frowned and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Normally she lets me know if she'd going to be this late." He didn't add that she had promised on her life that she would not be staying late tonight because there was a very real chance he would lose his if she did.

"You don't think she's in trouble, do you?" worried Jackie. "Bloody Torchwood-"

"I'm sure she's fine," the Doctor reassured her as Rose the Dog bounded into the room and settled on his lap. He stroked her absentmindedly with one hand as the other fished his mobile out of his trouser pocket.

Jackie shot him a scepticle look. "I've heard about the nonsense you get up to at that place. Aliens and whatnot-"

"Sat right here, Jackie."

"-and none of it sounds safe! I swear, none of you lot are happy unless some freaky thing from up there is trying to kill you. Do you even get payed for it?"

He shrugged. Pete had offered him a full-time job at Torchwood, providing he attended all the relevant training. Of course, the idea of a proper job made his teeth itch and the Doctor had only gone to the training sessions that sounded fun (he'd been in the front row for advanced theoretical temporal physics, but had given health and safety a wide berth) or he knew Rose would be running. As a result he wasn't sure if he was an offical Torchwood employee, but everyone there knew who he was and let him in to tinker in their labs or join them on field missions on the days he decided to show up. Her should probably check to see if he was on the payroll or not...

"Yeah, well, you won't be getting payed enough for all the risk! It ain't safe."

The Doctor nodded along though his attention was squarly focussed on whether Benjy knew what Diane had been saying about him to the other housemates. Inner-house politics hadn't been this fascinating when he had been in the house himself.

"I was saying to Pete the other day, I was. I was saying "Pete, you can't seriously be letting Rose do this stuff. It isn't safe!""

Why hadn't he been more involved? Personality like his, he could have won the public over in no time. Or at least worked out a way to escape when he got bored.

"He reckons she probably enjoys it, thanks to all that time with you. Ruined her, you have."

The cameras could be broken up and fashioned into some kind of explosive, surely... Just as his plan was coming together, Rose the Dog softly bit his hand and he remembered why he hadn't been a very good housemate. After giving the dog a grateful scratch behind the ears, he went back to checking his phone and saw it was switched off. Rose always bugged him to keep it on, but after 900 years of not bothering with such primative technology, it was difficult to remember.

"Saying that, I remember that time at school when she talked her way out of PE by saying it was against her human rights to play netball. Half the class walked out. That was another meeting up the school with her form tutor," muttered Jackie. It was a talent, the Doctor thought, that even this pre-Auton story was still told in the same accusatory tone, as though he had had an influence on Rose's school days. If you gave her the chance, Jackie Tyler could convince someone that he was to blame for the fall of Rome.

He partly was, but she didn't know that and he had no plans of telling her.

Jackie sighed as the Doctor's phone buzzed into life. "The whole choir thing happened the week after. Did she ever-"

The Doctor was saved from having to become an active part of the conversation when a text came through. "It's Rose!" he exclaimed, causing Rose the Dog to yelp.

"Who did you think was licking your hand?" Jackie asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, not- nevermind."

He waited for the message to open, hoping against hope that it announced her immediate arrival, preferably with some kind of apology cake for being so late and leaving him to the mercy of her mother.

Instead, what he read, caused all the colour to drain from his face.

_code 63 tried 2 get out of it stuck with the killer ilyx_

He clung to the phone with a shaking hand, as though he could somehow drag Rose herself to him and safety.

"So?" Jackie pestered, taking a healthy glug of wine. "Where is she?"

Eyes still locked on the screen, the Doctor tried to explain what was happening but it was made slightly difficult, owing to his heart being in his throat. Of all the days he could have chosen to not go into work...

"Doctor? Is she all right?"

Finally he looked up to see Jackie's concern. Something about it started his brain working again. "Code sixty-three..." he breathed.

"What?" She shook her head impatiently. "What's that when it's at home?"

"It's kidnap," the Doctor replied. "Rose has been kidnapped."


	2. There’s Quite Possibly Going To Be A Murder

There was a moment where their eyes met and all the arguments and sniping of the past fell away. If there was one thing, in this universe or the next, that the Doctor and Jackie agreed on, it was Rose and her being safe was something they would both give their lives to ensure.

“What do you mean?” Jackie asked frantically. “How do you know? Who by? Is she okay? Doctor, what’s hap-”

“Jackie, please,” the Doctor said as steadily as he could. Unable to sit still, he jumped up, sending Rose the Dog scarpering into the kitchen and began pacing. “She sent me this.” He handed the phone to her. “A code 63 in Torchwood is kidnap but I can’t get anything else from that message than that.”

Already his mind was racing. Previous cases she’d had that had ended in her being threatened… People who already had a grudge against him… Hostile aliens they had encountered in this universe… It all swirled around, keeping the panic at bay but not making any sense. He tried desperately to remember if Rose had mentioned anything to him this morning before she left that could be important. Any case she was working on, a new partner, a piece of alien tech she wanted him to investigate - anything that could help him.

“What does this last bit mean?” The Doctor whirled around and saw Jackie holding the phone out to him. She looked just as distressed as he felt. “Is that more Torchwood talk?”

In two strides the Doctor was across the room and rereading the text he had already memorised. “No, it isn’t,” he said. “It’s just nonsense. Maybe… maybe she was caught with her phone and sent it early? She could’ve pressed extra buttons in a struggle?” Even as he spoke the scene played out in his head. He knew Rose. There was no way she would go down without a fight. But he knew enough kidnappers to know how well they usually fought back.

Some part of him heard Jackie gasp, but he had snatched the phone from her hand before he realised he should probably at least make an effort to keep her calm. He hit the redial button and turned back to her, pasting a smile on his face for good measure. “This is Rose, Jackie,” he said softly. “She can handle herself.”

Jackie sniffed and nodded. The Doctor tried to think of something else comforting to say as he waited for the call to connect but the words just weren’t coming. This was as much his worst nightmare as it was hers.

“Is she answering?” she asked, hugging herself.

The Doctor shook his head as he lowered the phone. “It’s turned off.”

And, just like that, things became very simple indeed.

“Right,” he said, pocketing the phone. “I’m going to get her.”

Without another word he marched over to the hall cupboard, leaving Jackie gawping after him.

If Rose had used her one chance of reaching someone to send him half a message then something was seriously wrong. She trusted her Torchwood colleagues having been in almost as many dangerous situations with them as she had with him and she had been overly protective of him since he had become human. It had frustrated him at first but, looking back, after spending 900 years being virtually indestructible and flinging himself into peril without a second thought, it was easy to forget that something as harmless as radiation or a bullet could actually kill him. Even now, trapped with a killer, she was trying to keep him safe by giving no hint at her location or kidnapper.

It was the way the text had ended that set him on edge the most. As his own hands fumbled over random objects in the cupboard he could picture Rose’s frantically typing while a shadowy figure tried to restrain her. Had she been hurt for trying to alert someone? Was that the last time he’d ever have any contact with her? A unfinished call for assistance that he was too stupid to work out and she believed him too fragile to give?

“Doctor?”

Jackie’s voice barely broke through his thoughts and it wasn’t until she she grabbed his upper arm that he noticed he was shaking.

“How can we save Rose?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “We don’t know where she is, do we?

"Oh, Jackie Tyler, I’m hurt,” he breathed, pulling out a small device that looked a lot like an old Game Boy with an antenna attached to the top. Mainly because it was an old Game Boy with an antenna attached to the top. “You should have more faith in me by now.”

She gave the Game Boy a glance and then him a shake. “Now is not the time for somduku! My daughter is in trouble, you backwards alien-”

“Jackie!” he said sharply. He gripped her shoulders in the hopes it would stop her violent tendencies. It may have been two bodies ago, but the ghost of that slap still haunted him. “It’s not actually a Game Boy.”

“It says Game Boy on it.”

“Granted, it was a Game Boy, but I fiddled with it,” the Doctor told her proudly. “Now it tracks both my and Rose’s mobiles, even when they’re turned off.” He flipped the device and caught it again. “Of course, it still plays Mario and Pokemon. It would’ve been stupid to have ruined it.”

“So this thing can find Rose?”

The Doctor nodded. “Well, it can find her phone and that’s a start.”

“Brilliant!” Jackie cried. She pulled him into hug that he tried to resist, but still managed to end up with a mouthful of hair and a very near miss for his neck. “I’ll just get my coat.”

The Doctor, still recovering from hug-induced whiplash and Jackie’s perfume assaulting his nostrils, didn’t notice what had been said until she had already scurried away from him. “What?”

“It’s a bit nippy outside.”

“What?”

“Want me to grab yours while I’m there?”

“ _What?_ ”

Comprehension was still dawning on him when Jackie reemerged, wrapped up in her coat. “Lucky I picked up my black one, innit? Better for camouflage and all that.”

“Sorry,” the Doctor said, rubbing his eyes, “but why are you wearing your coat?”

She gave him a look that clearly implied that she’d thought he’d gone mad. “Because Rose is in trouble, Doctor. Remember?”

He could feel the weight of his phone that carried the message from Rose in his pocket and hear the echoes of her laughter ringing through the flat. His whole body tensed. “Of course I remember,” he bit out. “Doesn’t explain your coat.”

“Well, I’m coming with you, ain’t I?”

Rose kidnapped. Jackie volunteering to come on a mission with him. Maybe Rose had been right last week? Maybe eating three sharer bags of Skittles before bed could cause hallucinations? The Doctor pinched himself, hoping the same rules applied with all kind of subconscious mockery.

“Ow.”

“What did you do that for? You’re such a muppet sometimes.”

Jackie was still staring at him intently. Apparently this was reality and everything in his life was going horribly wrong.

“C'mon, then,” Jackie said. “I’ll drive.”

It couldn’t hurt to check again though, could it? Much harder to make sure?

“Ow!”

“Why do you keep doing that for?”

“Jackie, you seem to be under the impression that you are coming with me,” the Doctor said as delicately as he could. By most people’s standards it was all out rude but, for him, it was nigh on polite. Being part Donna was sometimes a blessing as well as a curse.

“‘Course I’m coming. She’s my daughter! Can’t just sit here and twiddle my thumbs, can I?”

Inside of his still magnificent despite being part-human brain, a thousand reasons why Jackie should indeed sit there and a twiddle her thumbs - perhaps get some knitting done as well, if she felt so inclined - bounced around. Everything from “you’re too emotionally involved” to “someone has to look after Rose the Dog” and even “teaming up with a completely mental part-human Dalek was a happier prospect than this” seemed worthy of being his main reason. Unfortunately, his still magnificent despite being part-human mouth wasn’t keeping up with his brain.

“Wha- No. Just - no. No. No, no, no. Not happening.” He took Jackie by the shoulders, spun her around and walked her back into the living room. “I’ll let you know when I’ve got Rose. I’ll bring her straight back here even so you can check she’s in tip-top condition as well.”

The Doctor smiled as he talked over Jackie’s splutters. Anything other than Rose being fine was unthinkable. If he truly believed in his singular heart that she was absolutely fine, then she would be. He’d even decided that he and Rose would not becoming directly back to flat like he had promised Jackie. It would, of course, be their second stop, after a quick(ish) detour that would involve some amazing reunion snogging, possibly with some victory groping thrown in. It depended on how it all went down, obviously.

“You can’t just leave me here!” Jackie protested as she reached the sofa.

“Can and will,” insisted the Doctor. He pulled the altered Game Boy from his pocket and began setting up the tracking system. He’d wasted enough time as it was. When the co-ordinates were locked in and the device was safely back in his jacket, Jackie prodded him in the shoulder.

“You are not going after her alone,” she growled. “No chance.”

The Doctor would have been a liar if he said he tried to restrain himself before laughing at the idea that he, the Oncoming Storm, Last of the Time Lords (sort of), needed an escort from anyone, let alone Jackie Tyler.

“Jackie,” he chuckled, “I’ve been doing this since before your Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandma was just a twinkle in your Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great _Great_ Granddad’s eye.”

“And how many times have you messed it up, eh?” she glowered. “Besides, my daughter wasn’t involved then. It’s different.”

There was something about that the steely glint in Jackie’s eye that terrified the Doctor. He’d seen it time and time again, across species at either end of the universe; nothing stood between a parent and their child. It was time for a different tactic.

“Please, Jackie,” he said softly. “I’ll be faster on my own. The sooner I sort this out, the sooner Rose will be home.”

For a second, the hardened matriarch flickered, revealing the worry and the panic, but Jackie Tyler hadn’t got this far in life without hiding her weaknesses well. Her face set into a determined expression and she trooped towards the front door without sparing the Doctor another glance.

“Tylers,” the Doctor hissed before quickly checking Rose the Dog had something to eat and drink and then chasing after Jackie down the stairs. “Jackie! Wait!”

She was already on the floor below and didn’t look back as she replied. “If you’re still trying to stop me then you can save your breath!”

He was taking the stairs two at a time and she was still somehow miles ahead of him. “Jackie, I am a trained professional and-”

“Ha!” she shouted back. “I’ve heard all about your training from Pete, I have. You barely finished basic and was kicked out half your modules!”

It was a valid point. If it wasn’t for his unparalleled knowledge of, well, everything, then there would be no way he’d be allowed on Torchwood property, let alone be on the payroll. If he was on the payroll. He _really_ had to look into that.

“I’ve still got nine hundred years of experience!” he reminded, deciding it was best not to linger too long on his attempts at Torchwood training. It’d only end in Jackie bringing up the incident with the chickens again and he’d waste precious Rose Saving time insisting on his innocence.

“You’re about six months old and probably need adult supervision,” Jackie contradicted. She flashed him a sweet smile as she pushed open to the door to the building’s underground car park.

“Ten months,” he reminded her, giving chase, “and if one of us in need of appropriate care, it’s you.”

Jackie rummaged in her bag for her keys. “Oh haha.”

“Don’t laugh too hard. You might have an accident.”

There was bleeping noise and a flash as the sports car to their left was unlocked. “You think you’re so smart, doncha?”

“Maybe,” the Doctor conceded, “but there are definitely things I don’t know that I’m sure you do, Jackie. For instance, I haven’t the foggiest idea if this universe or the other universe had the better Tena Ladies. Where as you-”

“Just get in,” Jackie snapped, pushing the Doctor, causing him to trip into the side of the car.

“Wait - you coming along with me - which we still haven’t agreed on, may I just remind you - is one thing,” the Doctor said as he righted himself, “but you driving-”

“My car.”

“Yes, but also your driving ability.”

It was a mark of how serious the situation was that the Doctor was saying the first comeback that came to him, rather than vetting them like he usually did around Jackie. Needlessly angering her wasn’t normally worth a witty line, but desperate times and all that.

“There is no way I am letting you drive my car,” Jackie informed him. He was still forming a perfectly valid response that sounded a lot like stuttering as she clambered into the driver’s seat. He jumped into the passenger side, just in case she drove off without him.

“Hang on,” he gasped, noticing the gear stick. “This is a manual. Can you even drive a manual?”

“Of course, I can,” Jackie said as she proved her point by putting the car in gear. Never before had the roar of a car engine sounded so much like a death knell. “And I won’t land us a year in the future,” she added with a glare.

“Jackie,” the Doctor sighed, checking the co-ordinates of Rose’s phone, “even with my very impressive skill set I very much doubt I could land that far out in a Porsche.”

As the car’s tyres squealed, the Doctor securely fastened his seatbelt and hoped that whatever Rose was currently facing, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as this.


	3. Super Bra to the Rescue

"Next left."

"My left or your left?"

"My- Jackie, we're facing the same way."

It had been like this for the past ten minutes and the Doctor was beginning to worry about the standard of the DVLA in Pete's World.

"Just to clarify, Jackie," he said as they went through another red light, "you do have a driving license?"

"In the old universe, yeah." She gave him a smug look which apparently couldn't be done while watching the road. "Passed first time, I did."

"But not this universe?"

"Nah. Already had the paperwork from the other Jackie."

She sped through another red light and the Doctor gripped his seat belt to make sure it was still there. While he appreciated her urgency, he also wanted to get to Rose alive. Even he'd struggle to save her after crashing through the windscreen. As a roundabout loomed in front of them, he wondered if it would be worth explaining the very complicated circumstances surrounding Jackie's driving license to the relevant authorities if it meant they would take it off of her.

"Which exit?"

The Doctor checked the tracker, grateful for the chance to not look at the potential dangers outside. "Second."

"Second from here?"

"No, from where we started."

"Which was?"

"How can you- there!"

"I can't see where you're pointing!"

"That one! The one we just went passed! The place we were not thirty seconds ago!"

A screech of tyres and blast of a horn later and the Doctor was curled up as best as he could in his seat as though he were a hedgehog. "LORRIES ARE SOLID OBJECTS, JACKIE!"

"Not if they're in my bleeding lane, they ain't."

"PULL OVER!"

Jackie rolled her eyes and turned the wheel.

"Not here!" the Doctor squeaked as they nearly collided with another car. The other driver swore at them, a sign that he probably wouldn't rescue the Doctor if he asked him to. "Get off the roundabout!" he pleaded.

Three near accidents later, Jackie had finally parked in a side street and was trying to take the tracker from the Doctor.

"You give the worst directions!" she insisted, grabbing for the device. The Doctor did his best to pull away. Her nails may have been fake but they were still sharp. "Lemme have a look for myself."

"Worst directions?" the Doctor laughed. "You are the worst driver I have ever met in over nine hundred years!"

"You being the expert in bad driving, of course."

The pair glared at each other. This argument had been had several time before - three times already this week, in fact - and usually contained no malice. Snarking at one another was just what they did. Rose claimed it was the best way they had to show each other they cared and he had to agree. Not aloud, obviously. He reckoned it'd be a few decades yet before either of them admitted they had felt anything but contempt towards the other.

This time it was different. Behind each insult was the very real fear that the person that had bought them together and made them care about each other was in danger and they were unable to stop it.

"Jackie," the Doctor began in what he hoped was a calming voice, "we can't lose our heads here, okay? Rose needs us."

"Yeah," Jackie nodded. As she took her hands off the wheel, the Doctor saw they were shaking.

"How about we switch? You tell me where to go?"

"Probably for the best," agreed Jackie. "Men are crap with directions."

Grateful that she was seeing the bigger picture and was staying as strong as he knew she could, the Doctor grinned.

Once they had switched seats, Jackie was able to direct the Doctor who was much better at driving under pressure. Despite a couple of wrong turns and near brush with a boy racer, the pair found themselves outside of warehouse. Broken glass crunched under the Doctor's trainer as he stepped out of the car and looked for any sign of Rose. Judging by the lorries and vans parked at the far end of the car park, it was some kind of distribution centre but was closed up for the night.

"The beepy thing says she's here, Doctor," came Jackie's uncharacteristically subdued voice. "You been here before?"

The Doctor shook his head and tried calling Rose again. "It's still off." He pocketed his phone and ruffled his hair. "But she must have been here at some point if her phone is here."

Surrounding the grey building was a high fence, topped with barbed wire with a handful of plastic bags caught in it. The Doctor assumed there would be a main gate around the front, but that was also likely to be where the security was based so he thought it best to avoid that. He approached the fence and gave it a shake to see how strong it was.

"Right, Jackie, we need to climb this."

"Climb?" she laughed. "You barmy? It's got barbed wire on it!"

"I can put my jacket over the top of it."

"You wonder why I don't trust you," she muttered, eyeing up the fence. "Normal people don't know how to hop barbed wire fences."

Pointing out that he was a unique hybrid between an almost extinct species and her own, making him possibly the most abnormal person in the world, seemed counter-productive. "C'mon, before someone wonders why we're hanging about."

With practiced skill, the Doctor managed to drape his jacket over the fence and offered Jackie a boost. She stared at his cupped hands with wide eyes. "I'm going first?"

"Yes, or you'll have to go over by yourself."

Grumbling, Jackie gripped the Doctor's shoulders and placed her foot on his hands.

"Now, remember when you land to be sure to bend your knees or you'll injure yourself."

"If you make one more joke about my age-"

"I wasn't!" protested the Doctor. "This is serious safety stuff! I don't want to be the one explaining to Rose how her mother ended up with a preventable broken ankle!"

Looking as though he wouldn't make it to Rose if he let her get hurt, Jackie lifted herself up and the Doctor stood to help her reach the covered section of the fence. To her credit, Jackie made it over the fence after only kicking the Doctor in the face twice, something she credited to doing 'yoga with the girls twice a week'.

"You should show your face next Wednesday," Jackie suggested from the warehouse car park. "Now you're one of us you'll need to think about looking after yourself."

The Doctor spared her an insulted glance before climbing up the fence. As he was executing the tricky part at the top, the entire fence wobbled and he nearly fell. Clinging to the fence so hard that he could feel the sharp metal through the jacket, the Doctor saw that Jackie was the one shaking the fence.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he hissed as she stopped.

"I think I saw someone!"

"So you thought you'd kill me?"

"No!" she snapped. "I thought I'd let you know silently so we wouldn't be caught!"

"We've been talking this entire time!" Now that the shock of nearly being dislodged had worn off, the Doctor scoured the area for signs of life. The overnight security was the least of their worries if whoever had Rose had found them, but he didn't want any civilians involved. Brave people always came forward to help or try and stop him because they didn't understand what he was doing and the Doctor had seen too many of them die for a cause they were never really a part of. He didn't want that tonight.

About five hundred metres away from them, he saw the flash of a torch coming around the corner of the building.

"We've got company," the Doctor informed Jackie as he scrambled over the rest of the fence. His long limbs acted against him and he almost tripped on his way down, but managed to land with a wobbly landing. He grabbed Jackie's hand and pulled her towards the fire exit closest to them.

As they ran, the Doctor couldn't help notice how similar Jackie's hand was to Rose's. The skin was softer and the nails longer, but otherwise, the differences could only have been spotted by someone who knew Rose's hands as well as the Doctor did. He could recall all the times she had moaned about how she thought she had stubby fingers. A few months ago, as they had sat, cuddled together on the sofa, he'd gently kissed every finger and pronounced them perfect. She'd nudged his shoulder and accused him of being a sappy git, but couldn't properly fight her smile.

He couldn't lose her.

Once they'd reached the door, he pulled his home-made sonic screwdriver from his trouser pocket and pointed it at the door.

"Hurry, Doctor," Jackie urged.

He gave the screwdriver a bit of a shake and it came to life with its usually buzzing. "Aha!" he cheered and pushed the door open. Jackie quickly followed and shut it behind her.

"Good job you didn't have that in your jacket, innit?" Jackie nodded at the screwdriver as she leant against the door.

"Why - oh bollocks," the Doctor cursed. His jacket was still caught up in the fence outside. "I liked that jacket."

"You've got others. Stop pouting," said Jackie, checking the tracker. "It says Rose is down this way."

And as though there wasn't a murderous, unknown alien down the corridor, Jackie set off without a backwards glance. The Doctor pulled himself together and caught up with her. No wonder Rose ended up in trouble so much, if this was her only example of responsible behaviour growing up.

By the looks of the inside of the warehouse it seemed completely normal with staff notice boards covered in smudged marker pen and faded health and safety posters peeling off the walls. It meant it was more likely that whoever had taken Rose was using this place as a temporary base, rather than it being a front for something. While this made it more likely that they would be up against a less organised enemy, it also meant they would be desperate and more likely to make mistakes. They couldn't afford for any mistakes.

They kept as quiet as possible until they reached another door and Jackie stopped. She pointed at the tracker and then the door, but the Doctor knew what was behind there as soon as he'd seen the fear in Jackie's eyes. He nodded to say he understood and pointed his sonic at the lock, the thumping of his heart surely covering the noise.

"What's wrong?" whispered Jackie when he tried the door to find it shut.

He inspected the lock and closed his eyes. Why did this have to be happening today? "It's made of iron."

"So?"

"I - er - I haven't worked out the iron setting yet," he explained, holding up the screwdriver.

"Oh, you useless bloody alien."

"Hey! I made this out of three different toasters and a radio," said the Doctor. He pocketed the screwdriver that he'd spent weeks building and sighed. A few new settings were being added to it every week but there had been other things to concentrate on. Not to mention that it had taken centuries to get his old one up to scratch and he'd only had a few months and the wrong materials this time. Still, looking back, maybe the iron lock setting could have taken priority over the one that made Tony's toy cars break speed limits.

"What you gonna do?" fretted Jackie. "Kick the door down?" She looked him up and down, appearing sceptical.

"No - not that I couldn't," he hastened to add. "Have you got a thin bit of metal?"

"What?"

"Like a hair grip or something?"

She glanced at his hair. "It looks fine."

"No, I- It's for a lockpick."

"Oh." Jackie frowned as she searched her pockets. The Doctor impatiently waited until she shook her head.

"Then I guess I'll-"

"Ooh, hang on!"

Feeling as though something might actually go his way tonight, the Doctor's face lit up, expecting to see Jackie pulling out a nail file, hair grip or whatever barmy stuff she thought she might need for dinner at her daughter's flat. Instead, he was horrified to see she had her hand down her top.

"Jackie!" he squeaked, turning his back so abruptly he nearly fell and had to steady himself against the wall. "What the _hell_ -"

"You wanted a bit of metal," she replied over the rustling of fabric. "So how's this?"

Hesitantly, the Doctor peeked over his shoulder and saw Jackie was proudly holding a thin curve of metal. He realised, as his stomach turned, that it was the underwire from her bra.

"Sickening," he shuddered.

"Grow up," Jackie chastised, trying to hand it to him. "You've seen bras before."

"Not yours!" In fact, he had planned to go his entire life without ever having acknowledged that Jacqueline Tyler owned, wore or purchased underwear of any description. As far he was concerned she was permanently clothed, Rose and Tony had been free gifts with _Heat Magazine_ and that picture he'd seen of her in a bikini had never actually existed.

"Go on then, you great lump. Pick the lock," pushed Jackie, still waving the underwire at him.

"I'm _not_ touching that!"

"Fine!"

Jackie manipulated the wire into shape, bent in front of the lock and started picking it herself.

"Do you - erm - know what you're doing?" the Doctor asked.

Jackie answered him with a raised eyebrow and carried on working until they heard the lock click.

"You are the most formidable creature I have encountered in nine hundred years," the Doctor told her.

She patted his shoulder. "Don't you forget that, sweetheart."

His whole body buzzing with anticipation, the Doctor gestured for Jackie to stand behind him and cracked open the door enough to show that there were no lights on. Slowly, he opened it further and stepped into the room. Once inside he could see that this was part of the main warehouse; aisles and aisles of shelves were stacked with boxes of all shapes and sizes. He felt for his phone before remembering it was still in his jacket pocket.

"Jackie?" he breathed. "Can you ring Rose?"

Even though she looked petrified, she followed his instructions, the blue light of the phone making her complexion appear pale. After a few seconds she shook her head. "Still nothing."

Frowning, the Doctor took a few more steps into the warehouse. It was silent but for Jackie's breathing behind him. Surely there would be some sign that Rose had been here? Even if she had been moved since, there should be a sign of struggle or a reason why Torchwood had sent her here in the first place. Instead, all the Doctor could see was a perfectly average warehouse.

He turned to Jackie and held out his hand. "The tracker," he demanded.

It was sign of how she was feeling that she didn't complain about his rudeness as she passed it to him.

Just as Jackie had told him, Rose's phone should have been in this room. He zoomed in further and narrowed their search down to a set of shelves two rows across from their current position. They jogged towards the spot and saw that it was the same as the rest of the place - empty.

"Doctor, where is she?" Jackie asked uncertainly.

Not bothering to answer, the Doctor tried to stop the frustration consuming him but he could already feel it clawing up his spine. This was their one lead, their one chance to find Rose. It couldn't end here. He'd have to get Torchwood in, but that was problematic to say the least. If they weren't part of this then why didn't they already know? Why hadn't they informed him? Even if he wasn't an employee, then he was still her family. More than that, he had literally been created to keep her happy and since that moment had been doing everything within his power to live up to that. Without her, what did he have left? Surely he had a right to know she was in danger?

"This doesn't make _sense,_ " he hissed. He stormed over the nearest shelf and roughly pulled a box off it. It hit the floor with a thud as the contents spilt from the top. Amongst thousands of tiny polystyrene pieces were a dozen rod-like objects, wrapped in plastic. Part of him knew he wouldn't find Rose's phone, but until he had a better plan, he would tear this place apart.

"What's with the brollies?"

"What?" he snapped, whirling around to see Jackie frowning at the mess on the floor.

"What kind of alien maniac keeps boxes of brollies?"

The Doctor followed her gaze and saw that the rod-like objects he had so readily dismissed were umbrellas still in their cellophane wrapping. In fact, they were very familiar looking umbrellas. He stooped to pick one up and inspected it.

"Jackie," he said, lips barely moving, "when you had the tracker, you didn't press any buttons, did you?"

"'Course not!" she insisted. "I ain't stupid enough to play around with your rubbish. Didn't touch any of the buttons. Oh - except when the light went off. Had to press one then to see what I was doing."

Not breathing, the Doctor pressed a few buttons on the tracker. "Oh, isn't that just _wizard._ "

"What? Have you found Rose?"

Pinching his nose as he put the tracker in his pocket, the Doctor hoped he was more patient a man than he had ever been in the past. "Do you know what's handy about a tracker this accurate, Jackie?" He paused for her to shake her head. "It tracks things accurately. All sorts of things. Phones for security purposes is only one example of one of the brilliant things this tracker can track.

"It can also track items bought online," he finished, holding up the umbrella. "And you can scroll from one thing you've tracked to another by pressing that little button at the bottom. Since you took over directing us, we've not been heading towards Rose. Oh no, we've been saving your birthday present."

Jackie stared at him for a long moment, her mouth open but silent for a change. She looked from the umbrella to his face and back again.

"You've bought me an _umbrella_ for my birthday?"

It was the Doctor's turn to splutter. "That is hardly the issue right now!"

"An umbrella? What kind of moron thinks an umbrella makes a good present?"

"What kind of moron doesn't realise a map looks completely different than it did two seconds before?"

"Is this an alien thing? Did your people buy crap presents for each other?"

"It isn't exactly rocket science, is it? Looking at a dot?"

"Happy four hundredth! Have an anorak?"

"Why did you-"

"Hello?"

The Doctor's mouth shut with a click. Jackie took this as an opportunity to shout more abuse at him, but he covered her mouth with his hand before she could draw breath.

"Security," he whispered and she nodded. Wondering what kind of security announced their presence in such way, the Doctor gestured for Jackie to follow him as he crept along the outer wall and towards the door. Hopefully the poor guard was alone and continued to show the same level of ineptitude and left their exit open.

"Someone in here?" he called again.

Judging by his voice, the Doctor guessed he had moved further into the room so he began jogging silently towards the door. Once the two of them were out, Jackie shut the door behind them.

"Now what?"

The Doctor was already fiddling with the tracker. "Thankfully Rose's signal is only about a mile away. We get out of here without Dopey in there catching us and find her." He didn't want to think how much time had been wasted already. "If he's abandoned his post then we should have enough time to leave through the front door."

"Good," nodded Jackie as they started running back the way they came. "I ain't climbing another fence."

"I thought you were good at it," the Doctor said in a surprised tone. He held a door open for her and smiled as she passed him.

Jackie, in return, shot him a warning glare. "If you're thinking of getting me climbing gear for Christmas then I will smack you."


	4. The Little Grey Pikachu in Cells

The journey away from the warehouse was far more subdued than the one there. Worn out from their sprint and now more worried than ever, Jackie seemed to be able to do little more than relay the directions. This calmer Jackie agitated the Doctor. Their back and forth released some of the pressure that was building inside of him. With her so quiet he was left to think over everything in the hopes that he could spot a clue to who was doing this to them. He tried to bat away the voice telling him was trying to remember every detail of Rose, just in case he never saw her again, but the silence made it difficult.

"Wherever she is, she knows." The Doctor tore his mind from his morbid thoughts and saw Jackie was regarding him softly. "She knows so don't worry."

He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel needlessly and checked his mirrors before nodding.

"Used to think you was just using her, y'know?" she chuckled when it became clear he wasn't going to respond. "What could an alien bloke want from a girl like her? But you proved me wrong, Doctor. Not often I admit that."

The Doctor scoffed.

Jackie pointed them off a main road. Oddly enough, Jackie's words were a comfort to him. Not so much their content - none of it was a revelation to him, after all - but the way she said them. It was as though she truly believed Rose was okay and waiting for them, where as he could almost feel his thoughts taking a eulogised quality to them against his will.

He'd seen so much death, caused so much death... It was hard not to let his mind wander down that dark road sometimes.

"She's probably trying to argue her way out as we speak," the Doctor laughed as he turned.

"Talk for Britain, that girl."

"She has," the Doctor reminded her. "And the planet."

"Her geography teacher said she would one day."

"And probably meant it as an insult, the fool."

"Wish I'd known all this come parents' evenings."

"If you'd told him an alien in a blue box and would unlock her potential, then he'd likely have rang social services."

It wasn't her usual cackle but Jackie was laughing and the Doctor joined in. It wasn't until the Doctor heard stories from before he'd met Rose that he realised what a miracle it was that they had crossed paths, let alone be where they were today. If something small had changed then she could have walked out of Henrick's without being given the lottery money. He could have missed her and left her to the autons. He might have died in his TARDIS with Donna in the heart of Davros' ship having never met Rose in his current body.

And yet, out of all those almost never weres and very nearly wasn'ts, they were building something together that by rights he should never have got to experience. Happy endings weren't things that were handed out to those who deserved them; they were earned. Maybe this was another payment he had to make to show he was even a little worthy of Rose Tyler?

"She's one of kind, my girl," Jackie said into the quiet of the car.

"Yeah." The Doctor hesitated as he pulled into a large car park. "Probably something to do with the force of nature that raised her," he finally added without looking at Jackie.

Once he'd parked and turned the engine off, he glanced at Jackie and saw she was smiling at him. He wished he hadn't said anything. It was unnerving. He nodded awkwardly and fiddled with his seatbelt in the hopes that she'd be distracted by something by the time he was finished.

"She'll say yes one day, Doctor."

"What?" His fingers slipped on the buckle. He sucked them into his mouth to stop the stinging and saw that Jackie was holding a small, velvet covered box out to him. For one wild moment that likely took years off his already tiny life span, he thought she was proposing to him. Then he noticed how familiar the box was. "Where did you-"

"Fell out your pocket when you climbed the fence," she explained before smirking. "And I'd guessed."

"Really?"

"'Course."

While winning the staring contest he was having with Jackie would have proved... something, the idea that she'd known about his failed proposals was disturbing enough for him to look away. He took the box, checked the ring was still in there on reflex and pocketed it with a sigh. It wasn't the safest place for it, but he didn't want Rose finding it. She hadn't seen it yet, probably didn't think he'd even bought one, and he hoped it would be a surprise for her the day that she said yes. He hadn't wanted her to know how much he wanted it all so that she didn't feel obligated to marry him. Or maybe knowing all the effort he had gone to would be a good thing? Let her know he was taking this seriously and it wasn't just a whim?

Human relationships, he reflected, were even more complicated when you were in one.

"Stop pulling that face," snapped Jackie, pulling unsuccessfully on her door handle. Apparently her capacity for a heartfelt one to one had ran dry. "You're an idiot if you think she's anything but mad for you, now take the bleeding child locks off."

With a roll of his eyes and a flick of a switch, the pair of them were able to exit the car. Once he had straightened up, the Doctor noticed that they were once again in front of large and empty building; this time a cinema. With none of the lights on inside, the obnoxious neon signs and posters on the outer walls were the only things blinking at him through the darkness. The other difference this time was that there was only one other vehicle in the car park.

He only knew of one organisation that could make a black van look so innocuous that it was suspicious.

"That's a Torchwood van, right?" Jackie asked him quietly and he nodded. It proved his point if even Jackie could spot them. They might as well make TORCHWOOD INSTITUTE bumper stickers come as standard.

"So she's here," the Doctor said, looking around for signs of anyone else. "Or she was, at least."

"But her phone's definitely here?"

"Yeah."

Through the large windows at the front, the Doctor could clearly see that there was no one in the main lobby or any signs of a disturbance. Deciding it was better to enter the building through a door he knew didn't have a surprise on the other side, he retrieved his sonic and used it to get in. Once inside the multiplex, he realised how long a full search of the building could take and was grateful they still had the tracker with them. Thankfully, nobody came to greet them and they were free to swiftly cross the lobby, following the tracker's instructions.

"This thing says she's down that way," Jackie said, pointing down one of the long corridors that led to the screens. She took a step towards it, but the Doctor held her back.

"Jackie, do you hear that?" he asked softly.

She tilted her head as though it improved her hearing and frowned. "Hear what?"

"There's no alarm."

"That's good, right?"

The Doctor met her eye and she stepped back. He wondered what he must look like to her, on full alert, all-encompassing rage vibrating just beneath his skin. "It means someone has disabled it. But why?"

Jackie, for possibly the first time in her life, had nothing to say. She moved once more towards the screens but the Doctor pulled her towards a door labeled 'Private'.

"But she's this way, Doctor," she protested. Though the usual certainty was gone from her voice, she was still fighting for what she thought was right. As someone who got involved with situations like this nearly every day, the Doctor sometimes forgot that not everyone was used to this sort of thing. He had to admire how well Jackie was coping, especially given how personally invested she was.

"Yes, it looks as though she's in one of the screens," he explained more patiently that he normally would. "Whoever is in there will be expecting someone to come through one of the doors." He leaned against the door and it swung open. "So let's surprise them a little bit."

He smirked as Jackie grinned and followed him through into the staff area. Automatic lights flickered on revealing a windowless corridor that led to a set of stairs.

"Bingo!" he cried before bounding over to the stairs. He paused at the bottom and turned back to Jackie. "Er - don't tell Rose I said "Bingo"."

Jackie rolled her eyes and shoved him up the stairs. Despite having vastly different functions, the back area of the cinema was startling similar to the warehouse. Admittedly there were more old film posters and thoroughly depressing sign saying "If you see a customer without a smile - give them one of yours!" here, but it still had that unloved feeling that most work places had. He remembered that Rose had once been another face in a crowd of minimum wage ghosts and how it was all just a funny story to her now. Donna had even more tales of idiotic managers and members of the public who probably shouldn't have been allowed out on their own. And yet they were two of the most incredible people he had ever met who would have surely found their potential without him and his centuries old quest to defeat loneliness.

Humans, the Doctor had decided, were amazing and, even if he hated the whole body odour issue and quite frankly abysmal hormone regulation systems, he was proud to almost be one now.

"Is it just me or does it smell weird here?" Jackie asked once they were through the door at the top.

Of course, amongst the Roses and the Donnas, there were the Jackies, who took the life they were given and were happy about it. The Doctor always wondered how they saw the world in a sort of boggled and slightly scared kind of way.

The room they were in now had several doors leading from it. The Doctor knew what he was looking for, but wasn't sure which door it would be through. A few of them clearly led to offices so he ruled them out immediately. He hated being in his own office, let alone someone else's.

"Oh my God!" cried Jackie, flinging a door to her right open and darting in.

Images of her finding Rose's body or being shot down before he could reach her flooded the Doctor's mind and he scrambled after her, trainers squeaking on the lino. He was over the threshold before he had thought of what he was going to do and slammed straight into Jackie's back, nearly sending both of them to the floor.

"Watch it!"

"Jackie! What happened?" They were thankfully alone in what appeared to be a stock room.

"Look at all these!" She pointed to the shelf next to her. Now he wasn't worried about one of them dying, the Doctor saw it was filled with boxes of sweets and chocolates.

"The cinema having cinema snacks isn't my biggest concern right now, Jackie," he bit out.

She looked down guiltily, but then looked back at the sweets. "Couldn't hurt to take a bag or two for the journey?"

"Your daughter is being held hostage!"

"Yeah, and what will cheer her up more than a bag of Magic Stars?" she countered.

The Doctor had to admit that there was very little in the world that could cheer Rose up more than Magic Stars. Unfortunately for Jackie's plan, things that did cheer her up more included being rescued from hostile beings.

"Jackie Tyler, you are a millionaire! I'm not letting you steal a pound bag of sweets!"

"At a cinema?" Jackie sniffed. "Try about £3.50, mate."

He glared at her.

"Fine," she relented. "But if I get a shot at an Ice Blast I'm having one!"

All the tension and fear that had been pumping through veins was suddenly overtaken by the desire for brightly coloured ice. "Deal."

Ice Blasts were _Ice Blasts_ , after all.

Once back on the main landing, the Doctor hurried over to another door and peered through the window. He almost growled with frustration when he saw another stock room and rushed the next door.

"What are you looking for?" Jackie questioned him. "How is this helping Rose?"

The Doctor found what looked like the staff room and kicked the door before answering. "If I can find-"

"Doctor!" Jackie interrupted, apparently not all that interested in the answer to her own question. "I think I've found an alien thing!"

He was at her side so quickly that he almost knocked her over again. Jackie was tense, but clearly proud of her discovery, as the Doctor hastened to sonic the lock. As soon as the door was open, the fell across the threshold in an attempt to beat the other one inside.

"Where?" the Doctor asked, still staggering as he looked around, seeing nothing but sacks of kernels and large bags of popcorn. Nothing in the room screamed 'alien' to him, although the safety equipment was similar to the G'rities version of fast food workers' uniform. Although how would Jackie know about the surprising tasty h'yrite burgers and their galaxy famous, yet highly corrosive, seasoning?

"That!" Jackie pointed out, keeping her back to the wall as though the large machine against the far wall might come to life. "What is it, Doctor? Is that what they used to take my daughter? Is it their spaceship? Is she in there?" Jackie gasped and lunged for the machine. "ROSE!"

Before she could cause any damage, the Doctor caught her around the waist and pulled her back. "Jackie, keep it down!" She pressed her lips together, no doubt holding back a loud comeback. "Rose isn't here. all right? That-" He gestured to machine that started this latest episode of Jackie hysteria. "-is nothing to worry about. It isn't alien at any rate."

"How do you know?" Jackie challenged.

"Because it's the machine they use to make popcorn," he explained, pointing the peeling sticker on the front that said _Popmaster 3000._ Jackie opened her mouth to ask what could only have been an annoying question so he hastened to convince her once and for all. "Look, you put the unpopped kernels on this tray bit which heats up, causing them to expand. Then you add the flavouring and... Ah yes, bag it from these funnels at the front."

He gestured to each bit individually, knowing full well that he was making half of this up, but his guesses were usually accurate. Surely any self-described genius could work out how to work such basic machinery?

"Thought they had to use a giant microwave or something?" Jackie asked uncertainly, still eyeing the contraption with apprehension. "Are you sure? What if they put Rose on it, Doctor? You're all right but I've seen what some of them aliens do and it's horrible and-"

"Okay, okay," said the Doctor, holding one hand out while the other rooted around for his screwdriver. "I'll prove it to you quickly and then we can find Rose." He whipped his screwdriver out and pressed the button, but nothing happened. "Stupid thing," he muttered as he shook it. It burst to life with its familiar buzzing. "There we-"

The Doctor's triumph was interrupted by the shelves housing the popcorn kernels falling, causing them to land on the popping machine that was now whirring into life.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Attempting to remain calm as to not panic Jackie, he tried changing the setting in the hopes of turning the machine off so he could remove most of the kernels. However, the toaster components had had a rough ride all evening and decided to change it to its maximum setting instead. Before the Doctor could lament his trusty old screwdriver, the sacks of kernels began to expand at an alarming rate.

"Doctor? What's happening?"

"We're leaving."

Before he could take step closer to the door, the sacks exploded, filling the small room with popcorn.

"What did you do?" shrieked Jackie from where she had been knocked to the floor.

"Increased the functionality by 238%."

"What's that mean?" Jackie tried to stand up but struggled. The popcorn was already level with her knees.

The Doctor waded through to help her, still pointing his screwdriver ahead of him. It only made the noises coming from the machine louder so he put it away. "It's going to make about - ooh - a month's worth of popcorn in thirty seconds."

Jackie seized his forearms to steady herself and shook her head. "You useless, bloody-"

"Yes, yes, we all know the speech," snapped the Doctor. "Let's just go, shall we?"

Going proved much more difficult than intended. With popcorn up to his waist, the Doctor was struggling to walk, while Jackie could barely move.

"How is it still working?" she cried, looking as though she was trying to do breaststroke. "Doctor, help!"

By this point, help was something the Doctor needed more than he could give it. He had never been more grateful that the full Time Lord version of himself couldn't see him now. Or anyone else he'd ever met, in fact.

"Ooh, I know!" Jackie called over the constant rumble of machinery. "We can eat our way out!" With only one arm still above the popcorn, Jackie lunged forward, mouth wide open, and attempted to eat as much popcorn as she could. Once that mouthful was done with she repeated the action. The whole thing was highly reminiscent of Jaws and the Doctor wondered how he'd never made the connection before.

"You do know the calorie content of popcorn, right?" he inquired, still frozen in place after her fifth mouthful.

Jackie's head shot up, bits of popcorn covering her face. "'S'not that bad for you! It's just popcorn!"

"Jackie, the average bag of sweet popcorn has about five hundred calories!"

She spat out what was in her mouth. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I am! This is me telling you!"

"You know I've got that gala next month!"

"I just told you!"

"Since when did you care about stuff like that, anyway?"

The Doctor avoided Jackie's question. It reminded him too much of Rose finding it hilarious that he kept feeling compelled to diet despite - in her words - looking like a lamp post. "We should be able to climb on top of the popcorn and crawl across if we distribute our body weight-"

"Enough of the science," she snapped. "Just give us a hand."

With great difficulty, the Doctor managed to lift Jackie until most of her was above the sea of popcorn and instructed her to lie flat across it. Once she looked safe for the time being, he clambered up next to her. The whole process was exhausting and lead to him touching parts of Jackie Tyler he liked to pretend didn't exist. With the popcorn level still rising, albeit more gradually, the pair were able to shuffle over to the door where there was a lot less of the once-loved snack and they could wade through.

It took both of them to pull the door open and another struggle to get it closed again, but eventually they were free. They took a moment to compose themselves and straighten their clothing, the machine still an audible hum in the background.

"We _never_ mention this again." The Doctor tried to give Jackie his best Oncoming Storm glare, but he suspected the whole thing was undermined by the crumb he could see stuck in his fringe.

"Five _hundred?_ "

"Salted's worse." The Doctor inspected the next door and found he could see nothing but darkness through the window. He carefully got his screwdriver out, as though it could explode at any moment, and pointed it at the lock.

"What about butter?"

"What do you think happens to the nutritional value of food when you slather it in butter?"

"Marge?"

He spared her a withering look before unlocking the door and being met with a long, almost pitch black corridor. "Aha!"

"Oh no, I definitely seen this in a horror film," said Jackie, backing away. "They all wander in there, calling out and there's a madman hiding!"

"It's just the projection booth, Jackie. Nothing to worry about," he told her softly. Normally he wouldn't hesitate to scoff at Jackie's reaction but she did have a point. There was something unnerving about the stillness. He stepped inside, motioning for her to follow, and his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. While still creepy, he could now make out the notice board with jokes printed off from the internet stuck on it, along with an empty Pot Noodle. It helped to remind them this was just another room, even if it was windowless, dark and appeared to go on forever.

"Why are we here?" Jackie whispered, not helping the creepy atmosphere at all.

The Doctor edged forward, glancing at each of the silent projectors as he passed them. "From here we can see into every screen in the cinema," he explained. "We can find the one Rose is in and get an idea of what we're facing without being seen ourselves."

Jackie nodded and joined him in checking the small windows next to each projector on the opposite side to him. With only the ghostly emergency lights on, he could make out the white screens and the outlines of the seats but very little else. He was so close to Rose now that he could almost feel it. Adrenaline was mixing with his anxiety, and it was all he could do to stop himself running through the projection booth and giving them away. After all, he still had no idea what he would be up against. There was no telling how sensitive their hearing would be.

Even with this reminder to be sensible echoing in his mind, he knew that within seconds he'd find Rose or at least a clue to her whereabouts. Dread threatened to overcome him, but he forced himself to remain positive. No one had tried to stop them so far and he had seen no indication of a struggle or injury. He had no reason to fear the worst.

And yet-

"Doctor!" Jackie hissed.

He dragged himself out of his morbid thoughts and saw Jackie was pointing to one of the projectors. It was identical to the rest of them but with one major difference; it was currently turned on.

Pressing a finger to his lips, he approached the viewing window next to it and urged Jackie to stay back. Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, before peeking out into the screen.

The first thing he noticed was a film was currently playing, a romantic comedy by the looks of things. The sound was dulled through the wall but the American accents and pop music were still distinguishable. He scanned the room and saw something that made his hearts - no, _heart -_ skip a beat.

Silhouetted against the bright light of the screen, he could make out a person sat in the middle of the screen. It didn't matter what universe or body he was in, the Doctor would recognise that outline anywhere.

" _Rose,_ " he breathed once his lungs started working again.

It was then that he heard her shriek and everything else became unimportant. He could only see her head dipping forward and hear the echo of her voice as he threw himself forward and squeezed through the small window and fell onto a ledge. Without bothering to fully stand up, he scrambled over the edge and landed sprawled across the back seats. It was a bigger drop than anticipated and he let out a very manly yelp, if he didn't say so himself.

"What the-?" he heard Rose say. She sounded shaken, but it confirmed that she was at least vaguely okay. It would have caused him to sigh with relief if he hadn't just winded his annoying fragile part-human body.

Unprepared to waste any more time edging through across the row and down the aisle, the Doctor stepped onto the back of the seat in front of him. He wobbled dangerously before finding his balance. Eight rows on from of him he could just see Rose had turned to face him and he grinned widely. The lighting wasn't good enough to fully assuage his worry, but she was conscious and moving and _alive_. Once again he marveled at how she always seemed even more beautiful each time they were reunited.

Well, he could barely see her at the minute, but it was all but guaranteed, really.

"Doctor?" she gasped and the sound of her name on her lips sprung him into action. He stepped forward onto the backrest of the next seat and promptly tumbled into the next row.

"Rose!" he cried as he pulled himself back up. Abandoning his plans to walk over the chairs - something he _definitely_ used to be able to do - he opted to simply flinging himself over them like a cross between a dolphin and a crazed puppy.

He could honestly say that he had never been so glad to have already convinced Rose to love him because if she had still been on the fence at this point he would have lost all hope with her in an instant.

Finally - _finally -_ he made it to row directly behind Rose and was able to cup her cheeks, making sure she was real. "Rose! Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, she gripped his forearms, twisting in her seat to see him properly and stared at him as though he had just descended from the ceiling unannounced. Which, of course, he sort of had.

"You're all right!"

"Well-"

"I knew you'd be okay!" he pressed a kiss to her forehead. When he pulled back she was frowning at something near his hairline.

"Doctor, you're bleeding!"

"Bleeding?" He dropped his hands to her shoulders, his muscles tensing in fury. "Where? What did they do to you?"

Rose pushed his hands away to press her shirt sleeve to his temple. "Not me - you!"

"Doesn't matter." The Doctor pulled her hand away from his head and held it against his chest. He still wasn't used to his palms feeling sweaty and warm next to hers, but it added a whole new dimension to the Rose Tyler Hand Holding Experience so he didn't mind. " Are you okay? Where are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes taking in every tiny detail of her appearance as the film continued to play. This close he could see she was still in her Torchwood field uniform and seemed to be uninjured. By the looks of things her captors had left her unrestrained, which was odd.

Did they expect Rose Tyler to just sit and not escape? _Rose Tyler?_ The woman who would probably wander off with her ankles tied together and explicit instructions not to. Whoever had taken her would never have just left her.

"'M'not. What are you doing here?"

Not trusting her word for a second, he held her head still so he could check her eyes were focused. He'd seen this woman face almost certain death with a shrug and a joke. It wouldn't surprise him if she'd had her legs broken and wasn't telling him in case he worried. "You look shocked," he continued to babble, taking in her wide eyes and open mouth. "Are you in shock?"

"Doctor, I-"

"Okay, calm down, Rose," he soothed her, pulling her towards him. He breathed in her scent and closed his eyes and, despite not even being close to being out of the woods yet, truly believed his next words. "It'll be okay now."

"Yeah," he heard her say, sounding as though her mouth was smushed against his shoulder, "this is all really calming."

Now she was in arms and the pain in his shin was starting to lessen, the Doctor focused on the confusing circumstances instead. While Rose's heartbeat was a little above average, she seemed perfectly content otherwise. It didn't match up to the hurried call for help he'd received nearly two hours ago now. There was something he was missing... Something had happened to Rose. Something...

Needing extra information, he pressed his tongue against her cheek and licked her face.

Rose recoiled and wiped his saliva off. "For the- we've been through this, Doctor!"

"Bleh! Foundation..." The Doctor waggled his tongue out of his mouth, hoping the air would cleanse him of the awful taste of chemicals.

"And I'm the one with a dog named after me."

Once again ignoring Rose's protests, he retrieved another sample from her neck. She squeaked and pushed him away.

"Doctor!"

He analysed his findings and frowned. "You haven't been drugged," he concluded, baffled.

"Have you?" she asked seriously. She gripped his neck and brushed her thumb against his jaw, causing him to look her in the eye. He saw more concern than he would have expected. "What's happened? Why are you being so weird?"

"You say I'm always weird and that's why you love me."

"Well, yeah," she admitted and he grinned smugly. All these months later and it was still a novelty to be able to say the words and not be overcome with guilt and grief. "But this is weird for _you_."

Rose looked as though she sincerely didn't understand what was happening which only made him worry more. Could they have wiped her memory? Trying to remain outwardly calm, he decided not to overload her with information. "I'm saving you," he said slowly. "Don't you remember?"

For a moment, Rose looked as though she was forming a reply but then her expression froze. Before he could fully grasp what was happening, his own distress was being mirrored back at him.

"Doctor, tell me why you're here, okay?" She smiled and her hand slid down to cover his heart. What with all the running and panicking he'd done recently, she could likely feel it hammering against her palm. On reflection that was probably why she'd done it. She was checking him over, like he had her. He should probably have been more offended by her coddling, but mainly he was proud.

That was his Rose, after all. Always so smart and compassionate, putting other's needs before her own.

"Doctor, stay with me!"

Right. He probably shouldn't have smiled at her like the love struck fool he was half the time when she was making sure he was in control of all his faculties.

"Rose, I'm fine," he chuckled, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. "There's a simple explanation to all of this but first we really need to-"

"OI! Don't you run off and- ROSE!"

The Doctor's neck nearly snapped he turned so quickly. Rose's hair whipped him in the ear as she did the same thing. Before he could explain why Jackie Tyler was currently standing, hands on hips, on the ledge in front of the projection booth, he felt her grip on the front of his shirt tighten.

"My mum's here?" she whimpered.

"I tried to leave her behind," the Doctor implored. "If you know the first thing about me, Rose, then you will know that I tried to leave her behind."

"Hey!" Jackie shouted, waggling her finger at him. "You'd still be in that warehouse if it wasn't for me and my bra!"

Apparently oblivious to the effect her words had, Jackie edged towards the front of the platform and sat, ready to lower herself down.

"Rose." The Doctor shook her a bit in the hopes that her stunned expression would change to something a little more impressed by his heroics. "I can explain that horrid mental image and everything else just tell me you're okay," he finished, noting the hint of pleading now in his voice.

Rose blinked once. Twice. Then inhaled deeply, went to speak and blinked a third time, just to be sure that what she was seeing was actually what was happening. "I was until, like, three minutes ago."

"Where are they?" Jackie asked, making her way down the aisle. "Are they coming back?"

"Who?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "The baddies!"

"Oh," Rose frowned before pointing over her shoulder. "Them?"

The Doctor looked behind Rose and saw in the wheelchair space at the end of the row were four grey creatures, roughly the size of small dogs, with pointed ears, ambling around a small cage of dull, purple light. He recognised the cage as an invention of his own that he'd given to Torchwood. It emitted a telepathic field that calmed the occupant while keeping them painlessly confined, making it a better way of restraining rouge aliens than the previous method of shooting them. Even as he processed this new information, one of the creatures rolled onto its back and waved its stubby legs and long tail in the air.

"They're Jilkes," he stated, nonplussed.

"Yeah," Rose replied slowly. "You know what they're like. Break in anywhere they know there's food. Thankfully it was only these few, but we had to check the entire cinema." She reached into the seat next to hers, where a small bag of popcorn sat. The Jilkes' ears perked up at the noise of the bag rustling, their noses sniffing the air hopefully, and Rose chucked a handful at them. It passed through the cage with a small buzzing sound and was pounced on immediately. Within seconds the food was gone and the chubby Jilkes went back to being idle.

"They look like those things from that thing on the telly," Jackie observed as she joined them. "You know? That cartoon all the kids went mad for a few years back? Mo's kid had all the toys."

"Pikachu?" Rose laughed as she watched them fondly. "They do a bit."

"Really lazy Pikachu," the Doctor mused as one walked into another, fell onto its side and curled up on the floor.

"Yeah, took a while for me and Neema to catch them all-"

"Nice," the Doctor cut in proudly.

Rose grinned. "Couldn't resist. Then, while we were waiting the live capture van, got an emergency call and she had to shoot off and help. You know how short staffed Greg's stag do has made us? Anyway, I had to wait with these little guys. Stuck on a film so I wouldn't be bored."

"What?"

"Oh, it's dead simple," Rose said, helping herself to popcorn. "It's just like a DVD really. None of those old reels like you see on TV."

"Shame, that," Jackie commented with a sigh. "'Spose everything's going digital, ain't it?"

"Excuse me," the Doctor said loudly, "but can we mourn the death of cinematic magic later? Hmm? I want to know why you told me about a code sixty three! Because being captivated by the plot of this drivel-" He nodded to the screen. "Does not count."

"It's had good reviews, actually," Jackie said, folding her arms.

Rose, sensing that he wasn't in the mood for any more jokes, ignored her mother for a change. "I told you there was a code sixty three because there was a code sixty three."

"Right, so where are the kidnappers?"

"What? Code sixty three is breaking and entering from suspected extra-terrestrial," said Rose, nodding to the Jilkes. While the Doctor felt the colour draining from his face, Rose's eyes were shining, as though she was putting two and two together and annoying reaching four. "You said kidnappers."

Why, when the place was closed and the customers had left hours ago, did the owners of the cinema feel the need to make the screens so damn hot at this time of day?

"I- I may have done."

Rose was now full-on smirking. "Code _thirty six_ is kidnap, Doctor," she said, clearly straining to keep from laughing. "As you know, because you paid attention in your Torchwood training."

She had a very good point. She also had a very tight skirt and had worn it for that day of his training. It was the kind of skirt you shouldn't unleash on a being who wasn't fully used to human hormones if you wanted him to concentrate on anything else. It was also the kind of skirt you shouldn't mention being distracted by in front of the wearer's mother so the Doctor opted for his trusted back-up of talking until someone changed the subject for him.

"Of course, but it's good to keep on top of these things, isn't it? You shouldn't be on your own during missions. That's definitely against protocol! And I know this because I paid attention to my training. Very important, training. Training, training, training. _Training._ Did I ever tell you about-"

"Shut it, you plonker," Jackie snapped, turning to her daughter with a much softer look in her eyes. Although that didn't say much considering she looked like she was seriously considering putting him in a cage with the Jilkes. "Does this mean you're okay, Rose? No one is trying to hurt you?"

"No, Mum," she smiled in response. "Well, he's probably going to send me to an early grave, but nothing I can't deal with."

"That's not fair!" the Doctor protested over Jackie's hissed insults. "There were other reasons to worry! Your phone's turned off!"

"Is it?" Rose stretched in her seat to reach her pocket and checked. "Battery must have died. You know what these stupid Torchwood issue ones are like. Stand under a zeppelin and it conks out."

"But... but your text!"

Rose shrugged. "Yeah?"

" _Stuck with the killer?_ " he quoted and Jackie nodded. Everything else had just been further evidence to back up the message. If any of them had happened independently he would never have reacted in such a way. Well... maybe. But he'd have definitely have thought to double check his Torchwood training manual (currently being used as a doorstop in the kitchen) if it hadn't been for those four chilling words.

"What?" All humour left Rose's smile. Through all of the embarrassment, the Doctor knew his fear was showing and only now did she understand how severe it had been. "I said something about being home late because I was stuck looking after the Jilkes..." She trailed off, looking at the keypad of her phone. She mouthed some random letters and then blushed. Biting her lip, she looked back at him and smiled apologetically. "Ah. Auto-correct."

"You're kidding," Jackie exclaimed, snatching the phone from her daughter to double check.

The Doctor didn't need to. He could see it perfectly in his mind. Rose only half paying attention to her texting as she worked out how to work a projector and not realising that most people don't regularly use words that referenced aliens. While it was very narrow-minded of phone companies it was something Rose had moaned about before. In fact, he'd been working on a way to upgrade her phone to include every Pete's World language he knew just in case. She'd have sent the text and hunted down some popcorn, before making herself comfortable and waiting for her colleagues and hoping he wasn't too annoyed with her for abandoning him.

All the terror of the past couple of hours was slowly morphing into anger. How could she be so thoughtless? Before it could manifest itself as anything more than a scowl, he felt a warm hand touch his cheek. He met Rose's eyes and saw the apology there for everything that she had unwittingly put him through and he accepted it. They both knew the anxiety of the other being in trouble and the pain of being separated. Though they joked about many things normal people would find terrifying, they drew the line there.

Some things, no matter how well the wounds healed, would always hurt.

"But that last bit?" the Doctor whispered, leaning into her touch.

"The I-L-Y-X?"

He nodded. "I-I thought you'd had your phone taken from you and couldn't finish the message in time."

Rose smiled softly. "I love you, kiss."

As a reflex, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. "But what did it mean?"

"Oh..." Jackie gasped. "You muppet!"

"What? What have I done- Oh." Realisation may have replaced the confusion but it didn't make him feel much better. "How am I a muppet?" he fired back. "It's your daughter that can't text!"

"Hey, I was working!" Rose said, shoving him. "Not meant to be on my phone at all!"

"Punctuation, Rose, that's all I'm saying. Punctuation. And full sentences," he added.

"It's just an abbreviation! Everyone does it!"

"Not me! If I want to say something - especially something as meaningful and important as that - I would take the time to press a few extra buttons. It's not the sort of sentiment that should be cheapened by - by - LOL culture!" Once he had finished his impassioned rant, the Doctor sat back in his chair with a harrumph.

"I think your worth the few extra buttons," Rose said, nudging his knee. "Hashtag sorry."

"Hashtag fine."

"Hashtag _really_ sorry."

With a sigh, the Doctor turned to face her again. He wasn't really mad, but had he been, her contrite expression would've evaporated it instantly anyway. "Hashtag can we stop hashtagging now because I'm nine hundred years old and shouldn't act like an ASBO hoodlum?"

Rose's answering smile drove away all of the residual unpleasantness of the evening like only it could and the Doctor wrapped an arm around her.

"I don't understand half the things you two come out with, I don't," muttered Jackie from beside the Doctor. "Pass us some of that popcorn, Rose. I still haven't had dinner thanks to _someone._ "

A few minutes and couple more sharp words between Jackie and the Doctor later, Rose had finally lost her patience and told them to both just shut up and enjoy the film. Eventually the narrowed eyes and curled lips also stopped.

The film wasn't too bad from what the Doctor had seen, though he had no idea who was meant to be who. Although that probably made it all the more interesting in a way - especially when two people he thought were siblings shared a heated snog. In the back of his mind he felt guilty - this was a bit like stealing after all - so he asked Rose if she'd like to come and see a film another time. That way he could sneak three tickets worth into a till and take that small load off his conscience. The suggestion made Rose snuggle into him more so clearly it had been troubling her as well.

While he was wondering if he could convince Rose to watch a documentary instead of some of the insipid nonsense she usually made him watch, the scene in front of him showed a group of woman picking out wedding dresses. After several dresses that did not suit the actress in the slightest she was now wearing a rather beautiful one and her mother was crying. Over a dress. She was crying physical tears over a _dress._ A collection of silk and lace and she was crying about it. It made zero sense. If he ever got to see Rose in a wedding dress would he be expected to cry? Well, he'd already seen her in a wedding dress but that was an undercover rouse so probably didn't count.

The Doctor fidgeted in his seat. Maybe he'd better do more research into 21st century human weddings before he was a part of one...

"Do you reckon I should get one like that?" Rose whispered, playing with a strand of her hair, still watching the film.

"What?"

"The dress," she elaborated. Her eyes flicked to his to gauge his reaction. "Should I get one like that?"

"A wedding dress?"

"Yeah," Rose continued, with her full attention back on the screen. She bit her lip, apparently unaware that he had stopped breathing about ten seconds previously. "Not sure about the whole off the shoulder thing though."

"For a wedding?"

Maybe it was that he didn't answer her question or maybe it was the crack in his voice, but something made Rose look at him as though he was shoving marshmallows up his nose.

"Nah, for the next time I go paintballing with the team."

The corner of the Doctor's mouth twitched. "You're thinking about wedding dresses?"

As though she had only just realised the implications of her query, Rose turned back to the screen, but not before he'd spotted her blushing. "A bit," she mumbled.

She tried to make her reply casual and, as a result, it was anything but. It made his smile spread across his face and he made a content noise in the back of his throat. Hearing the noise, Rose glanced at him and blushed harder.

"Shut up."

"Don't suppose you've had any thoughts about the groom?" he teased.

"Hmm-mm," Rose nodded.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he needs to stop fishing."

"I am trying to watch this," complained Jackie.

"Sorry."

The Doctor settled back down, wishing there wasn't an armrest between him and Rose. She was thinking about it. She was _really_ thinking about it. Despite her reassurances, the rejections had still stung. It was hard not to start thinking that maybe she didn't want him and was waiting for the full Time Lord or another, better, option to come along. She always went out of her way to let him know that wasn't the case but dark thoughts were never alone in his head and they liked to egg each other on.

But she was thinking about dresses. She was planning it in her head, planning the day she told him and the rest of the world that she would spend the rest of her life with him because she wanted to.

It was enough to make him see why people might cry over something as silly as a wedding dress.

Jackie sighed, breaking him out of his thoughts. "The dress _is_ beautiful."

Rose hummed in agreement and threw another handful of popcorn at the Jilkes.

"Pockets, though?" Jackie continued loudly and the Doctor was thankful there weren't any other customers. "What's that about?"

"I like it," shrugged Rose. "Could come in handy."

Jackie carried on about how practicality should never be a consideration when dress shopping, but the Doctor wasn't listening. He was too busy kissing Rose's temple and nuzzling his nose against the side of her head.

"Big fan of pockets?" Rose giggled quietly.

"Oh yes."

Though she looked baffled, Rose was still chuckling when she turned to give him a quick kiss. If only Jackie hadn't been there...

"What's taking your backup so long to get here?" Jackie asked, holding her hand out so Rose could pass her some popcorn. "Must have been at least an hour."

Rose gave Jackie the bag, looking unconcerned. "Everyone's tied up dealing with this break-in at a warehouse. Alien tech was used, but nothing was stolen. Weird, right? And then there'd been all these reports of a speeding car causing havoc on the roads. I lucked out, really," she added with a laugh. "Sounds like a nightmare."

The Doctor and Jackie shared a look and silently agreed that there was no way that they would be able to get away with it forever, but there was no need to own up yet. Unbeknownst to Rose, they both nodded and turned back to film, faces as blank as possible.

"Yeah."

"Some people these days."


End file.
